Conductive teachers Krisztina Bernstein, right, and Orsi Toth-Petho works with students Malia Sanchez, 5, and Gabriella Covello, 5, respectively, at the Conductive Learning Center of San Francisco in Glen Park. Conductive education is intended to help children with motor challenges (usually stemming from cerebral palsy, spina bifida, etc.) learn how to independently perform routine tasks and become mobile. less

Conductive teachers Krisztina Bernstein, right, and Orsi Toth-Petho works with students Malia Sanchez, 5, and Gabriella Covello, 5, respectively, at the Conductive Learning Center of San Francisco in Glen Park. ... more

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

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Drake Becker, 3, who has cerebral palsy, makes a collage in front of a mirror at the Conductive Learning Center of San Francisco in Glen Park. Conductive education is intended to help children with motor challenges (usually stemming from cerebral palsy, spina bifida, etc.) learn how to independently perform routine tasks and become mobile. less

Drake Becker, 3, who has cerebral palsy, makes a collage in front of a mirror at the Conductive Learning Center of San Francisco in Glen Park. Conductive education is intended to help children with motor ... more

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Image 3 of 4

Conductive teacher Orsi Toth-Petho works with students Drake Becker, 3, left, and Gabriella Covello, 5, at the Conductive Learning Center of San Francisco in Glen Park. Conductive education is intended to help children with motor challenges (usually stemming from cerebral palsy, spina bifida, etc.) learn how to independently perform routine tasks and become mobile. less

Conductive teacher Orsi Toth-Petho works with students Drake Becker, 3, left, and Gabriella Covello, 5, at the Conductive Learning Center of San Francisco in Glen Park. Conductive education is intended to help ... more

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

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Conductive Education Center of S.F. starts small

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With a gaggle of children ages 3 to 5 diligently working on their collages, the scene looks much like your typical preschool. But in this summer camp classroom, instructors place less emphasis on coloring inside the lines. They're more concerned with just making sure students can pick up the colored pencils correctly.

Going against medical consensus that held that children with cerebral palsy and other movement disorders couldn't improve their motor skills, Petõ theorized that through intensive guided instruction and repetitive movement, children suffering from neuromotor disorders could eventually learn to carry out tasks that many thought impossible.

"Not a lot of people here know about conductive education," says Prueitt, whose 4-year-old daughter, Archer, suffers from cerebral palsy. "When it's your child, you do what you have to do."

Prueitt, the pastry chef and co-founder of Tartine, has left the daily operation of the bakery in the hands of her husband, Chad Robertson, Tartine's baker and co-founder. Creating the first school in San Francisco dedicated to treating children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other motor challenges has become a full-time job.

Describing the currently accepted special education environment of mainstreaming kids with physical disabilities, Prueitt says, "The child is sitting in a classroom with the other kids, trying to learn but having absolutely no physical activity whatsoever. And when they go on recess - which is when everybody is finally able to get all their energy out and socialize - these children cannot participate. It just seemed really upside down to me."

Feeling the need for something beyond standard special education for her daughter, Prueitt researched alternative approaches to pediatric cerebral palsy. The work being done at the Conductive Learning Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., caught her attention, and she enrolled Archer there for two four-week sessions. She was so impressed by how her daughter and others were able to move and thrive in the group setting that she decided to open a similar school in San Francisco. (There is one other conductive learning school in California, in Los Angeles, and about 30 nationwide.)

"Every parent wants their kid to be able to move and walk," Prueitt says. "If they can't tie their shoelaces because they have poor motor skills, that's what you want them to be able to do."

On a recent Friday morning, Bernstein and co-conductor Orsi Toth-Petho, also trained at the Petõ Institute, guided children through a series of movements with the aid of customized wooden furniture.

"Congratulations," Bernstein tells Drake Becker, 3, commending him on his posture as he lies on top of an elongated desk that doubles as a platform. When Drake successfully crosses his legs, Bernstein declares, "You are the teacher!" He then gets to issue the sing-song instructions to his fellow classmates. "I put my left heel up to my right knee," he says.

Guiding

Later, Bernstein guides 5-year-old Malia Sanchez in an exercise to move her legs through the basic motions involved in walking. The little girl holds the back of a chair while Toth-Petho slowly slides it forward. Gripping the chair's ladder-like rungs tightly, she tentatively steps forward.

The school will start small with a class of five children and two "conductors" (Petõ-method educators prefer the term to "teacher"). Prueitt and Bernstein hope to expand with programs for infants and after-school instruction for older children.

The high teacher-to-student ratio and the meticulously constructed furniture make the school a costly venture. San Francisco's pricey real estate only adds to the expense. The St. John School in Glen Park provided a room for the summer camp free of charge, but Prueitt is still scouting a permanent location for the school.

Prueitt and Bernstein have yet to finalize the exact cost of tuition. The school in Grand Rapids charges about $6,000 per semester.

"My goal," Prueitt says, "is to have at least one spot per class, if not more, to offer to a child who would not otherwise be able to afford it." A Hungarian dinner and silent auction were held earlier this summer at Bar Tartine to help cover the costs of starting up the school. Prueitt plans to hire a professional fundraiser to help keep the school afloat.

Typically, children attend a conductive learning school for about two years before going on to join mainstream elementary schools. Conductive education's main goal is to make students more physically and emotionally prepared to enter classrooms where most children don't have motor disorders.

Spectrum

But some medical professionals say that research on conductive education is not convincing. "The studies I've seen, unfortunately, have not shown robust findings," says Monica Rivera, a clinical faculty member at UCSF medical center with experience treating pediatric cerebral palsy.

Much like autism, cerebral palsy comes in a wide spectrum. Some cases are severely debilitating while others are hardly noticeable. Noting that treatments need to be tailored to each child, Rivera says, "Conductive education may work for some kids but may not for others."

However, based on the results she says she's seen, Prueitt's faith in conductive education remains strong.

"We all want our kids in mainstream schools," says Prueitt. "That being said, I'd hate for Archer to feel like she's in a zoo. I don't want that kind of inclusion."